Blue Moonlight

Luff Cover Fixing bolt... thread stripped

2010-08-26T14:40:00.007+01:00

Having been faced with the problem of a stripped thread on the bolt that holds my cover plate to the mast I needed a cure.

This solution places a M8 threaded insert in to the main body of the mast. If your fixing bolt is not M8 you may consider drilling your plate to accept a suitable bolt.

Here you can see the hole prior to the repair and with the plate removed. Notice how thin the metal is and it is no surprise that the thread has stripped.

To make the repair you will need a 14mm ring spanner to tighten the insertion tool and drill bits suitable to enlarge the existing hole to 11mm. I chose to work my way up using a 9mm then 10mm and finally an 11mm. This reduces the amount of internal burring.

Be careful to drill only deep enough to go through the metal of the mast and not to damage any cables/lines in the mast.

You will then end up with a hole that will accept the insert

Once you are happy with this the insert needs to be fitted to the tool. Loosen the locking nut at the back of the tool and wind enough thread out of the front. Do not unwind too much as once again you do not want to damage any internal wiring in the mast. But do ensure you have a couple of clear threads so that the tool has a good grip on the insert.

This picture shows the tool fitted with the insert and with the tommy bar inserted.

Next insert the assembled tool and insert in to the hole.

Use the bar to hold the tool steady and start to tighten the spanner. You feel the insert start to tighten in the hole as you do so. Once the insert has started to grip to the point where by the tool will not move if you try to move the tommy bar, turn the spanner a further half turn. Do not over tighten as you will strip the thread of the insert.

Now loosen the back nut a fraction and then unscrew the whole tool from the insert. Leaving the insert firmly fixed in the mast.

Job done.

If anyone wants to give it a go I have the tool and spare inserts... give me a shout

The New Engine pt 2

2010-04-26T10:15:00.008+01:00

At last here's the second installment.

So, with a nice empty engine bay, take time to give it a clean and repaint.

Cillet Bang greasey floor cleaner does a bloody good job. Then during a final wipe with some "alchol a Brulee" (Origo spirit fuel) discover that this stuff disolves old bilge paint leaving a lovely clean surface.

Next wire brush the bearers. Remember that I had wider legs made for the engine so it could sit on the existing bearers, it's worth noting that the bearers run inline with the prop shaft which is a common convention and a great aid to aligning things.

Once the yard has done their bit of heavy lifting you'll have a shiny new beta engine in your cabin

Now comes lots of engine in and engine out. Prop shaft in prop shaft out. Measure twice cut once!

After some jiggling we found that by very slightly twisting the fwd feet on the two fwd legs on the engine it was possible to re use two of the existing holes in the bearers.

Next we cut the shaft to length having left enough room for the addition of the rope cutter. Then we attached the centaflex coupling to the shaft. This give a nice big flat surface to compare to the out put plate on the engine and makes alignment far far easier.

There then follows much gentle tweaking of engine position and leg height etc.

Once you are happy you then scribe around the feet and the mounting holes and are ready to drill! You may wish to remove the bearers to do this but we found that there is enough room to get in there with a good sharp drill bit and 18v Ryobi cordless drill..... and bang goes your lovely clean bilge!

Once Drilled and tidy again, back in goes the engine , in go the bolts and more tweaking and aligning. Various feelers and measuring devices used.

Also worth noting is that the Centaflex can happily live with 1 degree of misalignmnet. Now on the face of it this sounds like a small amount. But if you do some maths as to what this would be in terms of where the mount meets the engine you will be surprised. THIS IS NOT TO BE USED AS AN EXCUSE FOR POOR ALIGNMENT.

With everything bolted down tightly and the engine box reassembled you should end up looking like this...

Here's the fitted rope cutter. Note that a special clamp is needed to fit the stationery part to the the cutless bearing housing.

The New Engine

2010-02-08T14:32:00.002Z

So here is the account of fitting a new engine.

First, decide what engine. After taking advice from other owners, the WOA, YBW, Engine makers and the like, the Beta 20 seems to be the most suitable. 3 HP less than the original MD11c in theory. But almost a 3rd of the weight (90kg),
. Modern, 3 cylinder smooth running and capable of heating a calorifier.

So step one is removal of the MD11c which weighs in at 247Kg. My advice is to not spend too much time researching this as you'll scare yourself and get to tied up in wondering how difficult it is to do. Two mistakes that I made.

You'll need.... An angle grinder, a 2 1/4 AF socket with massive breaker bar, various cold chisels and, big metal wedges, crowbar, a chain hoist, two lumps of 4x6 timber and assorted other tools.

It's wise to remove some of the eaily removed items. Such as the fly wheel that weighs in at 35Kg, the starter and the alternator. The latter being easy! For the flywheel you'll be needing the 2 1/4AF socket and bars to get some leverage on it. In my case Mike, who is really doing the job! Got the nut started by bending back the lock tab and whacking the nut round with a cold chisel and club hammer. The chances of finding a puller big enough for the wheel are slim... I tried a 10ton sealy and its not a good fit. But wedges behind and levers soon shifted it.

So with that lot removed you've probably got the weight down to 200Kg ish. Now some will advise to take the head off... but at the end of the day you're going to need a crane to lift the engine out of the cabin, or the nerve to do so using the boom. So if you intend to get a crane to do this part you are now ready to move the lump from the engine bay in to the cabin.

So, disconnect all the services. uncouple the shaft and control cables. In all honesty this is all pretty straight forward.

Finally you need to detach from the bearers.

If you undo the two nut/bolts that hold the feet to the bearers you reduce the amount of lift needed to get the engine out. So 2 7/8 Af sockets and some force.

Useful idea number 1.... apply easing oil the night before!

once disconnected you'll need a plank of wood to slip under and slide the engine along.

Then you put your two lumps of wood across the companion way hatch, attach the hoist and lift/pull.

Eventually you'll end up with an MD11c propped up in your cabin and a feeling that it all seemed too easy!

Plus of course an empty engine bay full of dirty water and all the tools and nuts you dropped in there!

Installment the second to follow.....

It's not what you know but who.....

2010-02-02T15:46:00.002Z

Proving that age old expression

watch this space..

Snow Stops Play

2010-02-02T14:56:00.002Z

Here's how Bluey looked

So December and January saw snow stop play....

Thanks to Andy for keeping an eye on her

Lift out

2010-02-02T13:39:00.002Z

November of last year saw Blue Moonlight being lifted out at Wicor Marine ready for a much needed winter of works.

Here's some shots from Wicors web cam.

On the list are scrub and Anti foul, polish the hull, replace the standing rigging and all being well replace the old MD11c with a Beta 20 plus add hot water

Blueys Plywood Dinghy.

2009-12-03T19:04:00.006Z

This is a bit of an ongoing project that finally was completed in 2009.

It's also something that I did... because I wanted to see if I could.

Having looked around at various plans, including the PBO pup, the D2 and Apple Pie tender, I decided to make my first steps in to stitch and tape construction using a kit from Uk Epoxy resins.

The kit being to build a 7' 6" Pram Dinghy called "Jacqui" .

Having bought the kit I then purchased two sheets of good quality exterior 6mm play along with some 12mm. The Kit does imply that the whole dinghy can be built from 6mm but I opted to use the more weighty ply for the cross wise bulkheads to give it more strength.

Having now completed the project only time will tell how well the exterior ply will perform. But now I know it can be done I would attempt any future project using genuine marine ply.

Marking out and cutting the ply sheets is probably the must fiddly part. Especially for a non woodworker. But do keep in mind that the stitch and tape method can cover up a multitude of slight sins!

The Kit in theory conatins eveything you need, but allowing for lessons to be learnt you will almost certainly find you need a few extras. I also decided to sheath the whole underside with cloth for extra durability.

You need to establish a work pattern... mix only as much as you can use at one time and remember that once you start on a seam you will have to come back to it every few hours. Or be prepared to sand down between applications.

Empty DVD or CD cake boxes make good disposable mixing pots and you'l need a number of the cheapest paint brushes you can buy. Plus a load of disposable gloves to help keep your hands free from sticky epoxy!

Once the seats/buoyancy tanks were formed I filled them with closed cell builders foam.

The chambers were then topped off.. Gunnel rails added and the dinghy was then ready for a final sanding and paint. For the Blue I used International Bright Side. Inside I used weathershield exterior.

What's been happening ...

2009-11-21T08:02:00.001Z

Here's some of what's been going on on 2009

Project number one was to get more light in to the forward cabin. Something I've been wanting to do for ages.

Some Centaurs have let a 500mm sq Houdini hatch in to the existing hatch. Something that looks great and would be preferable. But it turns out that not all Centaurs are born equal and the hatch size varies. Mine being too small... thanks Mr Westerly!

So I decided top let in one of the smaller Houdinis and still keep the original hatch as an opener.

So a temporary ply hatch was made and fixed from below...

Now I have a much lighter forward berth, but not so much light that it wakes me up in the morning! Easy ventilation and still the emergency escape route.

Then the old hatch was taken home, cleaned with a pressure washer and the houdini hatch fitted.